


Oddity  [hxh]

by The_Sugacream



Category: Hunter X Hunter, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Can't write plot tf is a plot, Cross-Posted on Quotev, F/M, I miss hxh, I write this at night so dialogues may look like I'm on crack, OC's quirk is the walmart version of Yaomomo's, Slow updates bc ya girl making too many fanfics, Tentative pairing for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27452224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sugacream/pseuds/The_Sugacream
Summary: One day, a girl woke up to another world, weird.[ hxh fanfic ]ㅡ slight bnha
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

> "WHAT IS A HUNTER?"

ㅡ a self indulgent hxh fic

bc I have some time to spare

before suffering from school 😔👌


	2. [01]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzumi is(not) heroic

  
  
  


__

__ **CHAPTER ONE** **_!_ **

  
  
  


One day, a girl woke up to a different world. Weird.

Mikura Suzumi was a hero in training. Keyword:  _ was _ . After the headache inducing series of events that followed the training camp, she opted to take a much needed rest from all the stress. 

What she woke up to had her wondering if she was still stuck inside a dream.

_ 'A ship?' _

__ Her eyes squinted against the strong burst of wind, salty seawater splashing against her skin as stormy skies rolled in. The ship- or what she assumed so- remained afloat despite the monstrous waves that rocked the vessel. 

' _ Not the first dream I've had with a realistic feel to it, but this setting is strange…' _

Suzumi looked around her, noting the state of the other passengers. Most of them had passed out, likely due to the dizzying motion of the ship, there was even someone laying limp on a metal beam.

When the ship made a leap from the water, the man was propelled up, then sent back down, smothering the metal beam.

"That's rough," Suzumi cringed. She then looked down and saw that her hands were bound by thick ropes.

A thought passed her,  _ 'Im kidnapped in this scenario for some reason?' _

__ She tugged her hands, and found that the ropes weren't coiled tightly. She sighed in relief, "Okay, maybe I wasn't."

Suzumi endured, uncomfortable by this sea voyage to the unknown. Her queries would be answered as soon as the ship reached its destination.

_ 'For now, I gotta make sure I survive the rest of the ride,'  _ She thought. Her eyes befell on the man from earlier still getting thrown everywhere,  _ 'Also, should I help him? This is a dream but I'd feel bad if I let him suffer from that…' _

_ 'Well, I am a hero in training… but what if he's supposed to be like- an antagonist in this dream?' _

__ Suzumi shut her eyes and mumbled, "Someone else will probably help him."

  
  


☆

Turns out, nobody did. 

Suzumi bit her lip to stop herself,  _ 'Oh god, could I possibly have let him die?' _

__ "So how are they this year?" A voice asked.

"Just like those in past years…" came the answer, "-They're almost dead."

The former voice scoffed, "This isn't training for weaklings, and they want to be  _ hunters _ ? what a joke…"

Suzumi struggled against the rope, and after some movements she was able to loosen the coil around her limbs. She then ambled down the path to where she could hear the chattering of few people.

There, she saw a spiky haired kid, tending to a passenger with towel over his eyes. The act of kindness that the boy showed made her rethink what she's done so far.

_ 'Is this dream trying to guilt me into acting more heroic?' _

"Take this, it's water." The boy said, he then held out his other hand, "If you chew this you'll feel better."

_'What a good kid…'_ Suzumi thought, _'Just_ _what would mom think if she found out I left a man to his misery? Should I go back there and help?'_

The kid perked up when he heard her steps, he then approached her with a smile on his face, "Hello! I'm Gon! What's your name?"

_ 'On second thought, The crew will probably find and help the guy out. This is a dream so it wouldn't be too bad of me to  _ **_not_ ** _ help, right?' _

She returned the smile, "You can just call me Suzumi, nice to meet you Gon."

"Ne, Suzumi are you taking the hunter exam too?" Gon asked, tilting his head curiously.

_ 'Hunter?'  _ Suzumi's brows furrowed.  _ 'Is that some kind of term for Hero that I don't know?' _

__ "Yep!" She decided to answer.

Gon beamed at her and said, "Me too!"

_ 'He looks so young, like- maybe 10 years old? Is there a school that allows kids of that age to take entrance exams?' _

__ She didn't know and so, opting for an escape from the confusion Gon had created, Suzumi pointed towards a corner and said, "I'm gonna go there for now, just call me if you need anything."

Gon hummed and nodded. They waved bye to each other and went their own ways. 

Suzumi noticed a blonde haired girl resting on a hammock, sleeping with her head buried halfway into her top. There was also a middle-aged guy reading a magazine off to the side.

She decided against disturbing the girl, and made her way to the old guy. He had a lanky figure, short dark hair and sunglasses that looked so small on his face.

_ 'His sunglasses look cute.'  _

Suzumi stopped in front of the male and waved, "Hello!"

The male looked up from the magazine that he was so invested on. His cheeks seemed to flush when his eyes met hers. Suzumi's thoughts backtracked- worried if her decision to introduce herself to this man could pose a big problem.

_ 'He could be a creep! Wow, Suzumi, nice going!'  _ She berated herself.

"Um- I'm Mikura! What's your name?"

The man composed himself and replied, "I'm called Leorio."

"O-oh," Suzumi stuttered awkwardly, she gave a smile then slowly shied away from the older male. "I'm just gonna…"

The black haired girl strutted out the room and tried to find Gon who was the only person she knew by far.

_ 'That guy was reading a gravure magazine…how bold.'  _ She thought,  _ 'Though so far the only girls around is that sleeping one and me, which probably explains how Leorio-san doesn't have a care in the world if people saw him read such things.' _

"So far, my interactions with these people have been very weird. Like a badly written fanfiction, or a fever dream..." Suzumi muttered, messing with her hair as she looked out for the vibrant, all green get up that Gon wore. 

After a while, she found the young boy standing on the foremost part of the deck. 

"Gon!" Suzumi called out, smiling as she joined the male. 

The two stood there, eyes scanning the horizon. With each passing second, Suzumi felt the slow, yet notable change in the currents. It was one that made her think that maybe the storm was far from over.

_ 'Maybe that's why I was bound by ropes from the very start of this dream...' _

"What's up, you two? You seasick?" The voice that Suzumi heard from earlier asked, she craned her neck to look at who she could assume was the captain of the ship.

_ 'Not now but maybe soon…' _

"There'll be another storm. Even bigger…" Gon trailed off with a faraway look.

The captain uncapped his booze, sending Gon a blank look, "Hmm… what makes you say that?"

"A harsh wind is blowing, and the current is quite strong." Gon answered, he added, "-And the gulls are telling me to be careful."

"You understand bird's language?!" Chorused the captain and Suzumi, their eyes widened.

"Not everything but…"

"That's so cool! I can't even write kanji properly and here you are understanding bird language!" Suzumi couldn't hide her awe, simply amazed by Gon.

The captain seemed like he had an epiphany and called out to Gon, "Boy! You're the one who embarked from  **Whale Island** , aren't you?"

_ 'Whale what?'  _ Suzumi blinked.

"Yes." 

"What does your father do for a living?" 

" _ Hunter _ !" Gon answered, "I've only seen him in pictures but I admire him a lot!"

The captain lowered his head, "I see…"

Suzumi tuned out the two's conversation and focused on her palm. She mustered her strength and used her quirk,  _ pantomime _ , to create scissors. Seeing its silhouette on her palm, she heaved a sigh of relief.

_ 'Okay, so my quirk works in this dream. Good.'  _ She thought,  _ 'But I still don't know where this dream is taking place in… what is Whale island? Is it just one of my imaginary places? I don't check the world map so often that I'd remember where it is.' _

__ "Or if it exists…" Suzumi mumbled.

She perked up when she heard the captain say, "Follow me! I'll show you a few things about operating a ship."

"Okay!"

"Can I also come with?" Suzumi asked, mentally preparing herself for rejection, but when the captain didn't seem to mind, she grinned.

_ 'YES!' _

__

☆

"Ooh," Suzumi breathed out as she gazed at the control panel of the ship, 

_ 'So many buttons and levers…'  _ She bit her lower lip, hands itching to touch the controls. 

The captain spoke up, "If the wind changes a little, the storm could be here in 2 ½ hours. From this moment on, you'll have to learn the basics of sailing."

_ 'Wait what-?'  _ Suzumi's eyes widened.

"If you really want to be one of the best  _ hunters _ , you have to know how to do  _ everything _ ." 

"Ah! question," Suzumi raised a hand. After the captain signalled for her to go on, she asked, "Are the passengers gonna be able to survive this storm? They were roughened up real bad when I last saw them…"

"Well, young lad, let's find out," The captain inhaled and then; his voice filled the entire ship. Almost every passenger of the ship were sent spiraling into panic when they heard the announcement.

_ "We're going to enter into a turbulence zone two times more violent than the last one." _

__ Screams intensified inside the ship.

_ "The ones who fear for their lives can take rescue boats to the nearby island." _

Majority of the people who couldn't even stomach the turbulence first time around, immediately went packing. They rode off by small boats, padding away from the direction where the slowly rising waves could easily engulf them. 

Suzumi felt for them. She didn't know how she survived the first surge considering her very first experience with ships hadn't exactly been the best. 

_ 'Are they sure they can get away before the storm hits though?'  _ Suzumi pondered, her eyes gazing off to where she could see the passengers furiously boating away.

"Wait- Is the sleeping girl still inside?" She muttered to herself. She glanced at the captain and saw that he was busy teaching Gon, so she slipped away without another word.

When she arrived, she could see that the girl still was resting despite all the commotion. 

She looked from the blonde then to where Leorio, whom she had also just met, sat on. He was still there, holding on. Though Suzumi could've sworn she saw the male's face turn a bit purplish.

There came a big and strong wave that almost sent her flying had she not summoned a large metal ball chained to her ankle. The weight from it made her flop to the floor with a painful groan but she immediately rescinded her quirk before it could be flung again and possibly destroy the boat.

The currents grew even stronger, and Suzumi could barely contain herself from screaming when she felt herself  _ float _ . 

_ 'This feels a bit too real…!' _

__ When she plopped back down, Suzumi swiftly tied herself to a post. She resisted the urge to throw up as the ship continued its rocking motions. 

She checked up on the other two people in the room, wondering if they would be alright. She had half a mind to tie them up as well, but she figured she'd probably just get called a pervert if she did so.

"Still, how can she sleep through this hellish ride…" Suzumi grumbled, her blue eyes closing in on the sleeping passenger.

She turned towards the spiky haired man in the room, and asked, "Do you want a rope?!"

"Hah?!" Leorio asked, seemingly unable to hear her because of the the loud crashing of the waves.

"I said, do you want a rope?!" 

The man noted that she had tied herself against a post. He waved a hand and answered, "I'll be fine! Don't worry!"

"O-Okay!"

The wind became even more unrelenting, Suzumi's hair ties were already nowhere to be found. Her hair whipped around, slapping her skin with painful, wet sounds.

_ 'When I wake up, I'll definitely cut my hair shorter.' _

__ Another loud crash.

She wondered if the ship would be able to withstand this treatment, or if it would be reduced to mere floating planks by the time they reached their destination. 

In light of the whole situation, Suzumi recalled what her mother once told her,  _ "When in doubt, take a nap." _

__ Sleepception? Yes, that was just exactly what she needed. 

☆

_ 'I'm still inside the dream… this is getting fishy.' _

"Finally, you're the last four?" The captain asked, eyes scanning the group. "Your names?"

The lanky man amongst them spoke up and introduced himself first, "I am called Leorio."

"I'm Gon." The boy next to him said, one of his hands resting against his hip while the other held onto a… fishing rod?

"Oh- uh I'm Suzumi." She introduced herself while squeezing water from her hair.

"My name is Kurapika." Now that Suzumi thought about it, their blonde companion seemed androgynous. She apologetically bit her lip for assuming Kurapika's gender from the start.

_ 'Don't you just hate what a fool I've made out of myself, mom?'  _ She facepalmed.  _ 'I'll have to ask them what their pronouns are later.' _

"Why do you want to be hunters?" The captain asked, his eyes turning serious as he gave their group a glance over. He seemed like he meant business, but Suzumi was unsure she could just answer "oh! I'm actually dreaming right now and am just waiting to be waken up from this."

It seemed like Leorio didn't think so too as he blurted out, "Excuse me?"

"Answer!"

__ "I don't think you're an examiner..." Leorio frowned, "Why should we answer you?!"

Suddenly, a hand was thrown up, and everyone looked down to see Gon smiling as he answered, "I want to know what my father's work is like!"

"Hey! Not so fast, brat." Leorio jutted his fingers out towards the boy, "Who told you to answer? Don't you have any team spirit?"

Gon tilted his head, "I'm giving my reasons, what's wrong with that?"

Suzumi finished thinking up a reason for wanting to become a hunter and ignored Leorio's quiet reprimand. She raised her hand and said, "I want to find someone."

In reality, she didn't really have anyone she wanted to find, seeing as she was inside a dream. She just used it to reason with the Captain, curious as to how this dream would end.

Besides that, she just didn't want to be thrown away to the sea if she didn't give an answer. It would be a hell of a wake-up experience.

Leorio looked less than pleased to hear her follow after Gon, he chastised her and when asked why he was so adamant about not answering, he simply remarked, "You shouldn't, that's all."

"For me it's a matter of honor," He added.

"I agree with this guy," Kurapika chipped in, referring to Leorio.

_ 'Woah… so informal!'  _ Suzumi's eyes were wide as she turned her head to gauge the lanky male's reaction.

As expected, Leorio wasn't happy with Kurapika's wording, "Huh! How old are you? Were you never told to respect your elders?"

Kurapika didn't seem like they would be paying attention to the angered man anytime soon. They just went on to talk to the captain, "I would prefer not to answer your questions."

_ "I'm Leorio! Leorio-san!"  _

"Honestly speaking, in front of people I've just met… my reasons to become hunter are  _ mine _ , and are personal. That is why I cannot answer your question." The blonde said in a resolute tone. 

"Well… I see…" The captain trailed off.

_ "In that case, you must get off my ship as soon as possible." _

__ Leorio and Kurapika stood there in confusion, "What?"

Suzumi furrowed her brows, gaze switching between the captain and the two who refused to answer his question.

"You still don't understand?" The captain asked, "The hunter exam has already begun."

_ 'There it is, with the hunter business again.' _

The floorboards creaked as they stood rooted, surprised by whatever it was that was happening. Judging by the look that the captain was sending only Kurapika and Leorio, it seemed like she and Gon passed the question and answer portion of this Hunter exam. 

Only then, Suzumi realized this was far too elaborate of a scene to be part of a dream. 

She usually dreamed of solving mathematical problems, if not that, then zombie apocalypses. For her to suddenly dream about a world built up on these so-called Hunters, and with these people each having unique personalities that not even she can incorporate into a fanfic, It was a blaring red light. 

She wasn't dreaming.

_ 'Oh shit. Could I have been transported into another universe? That would explain the realistic feel… the unfamiliar island name and the whole hunter business.' _

__ It was no time to openly panic though, she had to gauge the severity of her situation calmly. She snapped out and listened as the captain spoke, eager to learn more about what she was getting herself into.

__ "You can't ignore that there are many aspiring hunters as there are stars in the sky." The captain started, He then continued, "Because of the lack of time and space, it's impossible to judge everyone."

"Oh! So you're like- a filter!" Suzumi pointed.

"Sort of." He answered, "We're just used to diminish the number of candidates. There are different filters, as you call it."

"Then,  _ except you four, _ all the other passengers have been deemed  _ failures _ for the grand jury. Even if they get to the place where the exams are held, they will not be welcomed in."

"The decision of whether or not you go to the exams belongs to me. So put away your mistrust and answer my question." He finished.

Leorio and Kurapika were both speechless, but seeing as they travelled all the way here for the Hunter exams, the latter answered first.

"I… I'm the only survivor of the Kurta clan." At this, the captain's eyes slightly widened. 

Suzumi wondered what was it with the Kurta clan that made the Captain gain a thoughtful look.

"Four years ago, all of my relatives were killed by thieves." Kurapika answered, clenching their fists, "The reason I want to become a hunter is because I want to capture the  _ Phantom Troupe _ ."

_ 'Why would thieves massacre a whole clan...'  _ Suzumi bit her thumb,  _ 'If the clan had something so valuable then that makes sense… I'm curious as to what it is.' _

__ "Becoming a  _ blacklist hunter _ , huh?" The captain fixated the blonde with his stare as he uncapped a bottle of booze. 

"The Phantom Troupe belongs to class A. Even the best hunters will think twice before helping you." He said. 

"You're chasing after a sure  _ death _ ."

_ 'So in a sense, this phamtom troupe is like the league of villains of this universe…'  _ Suzumi crossed her arms and nodded to her thoughts.

Kurapika didn't seem to bat an eye at the captain's words, they only proclaimed, "I do not fear death. What I fear most is that my anger never leaves."

Suzumi shivered at the intensity of their determination. Feeling like she'd easily get beaten down if she were to say anything related to this  _ Phantom Troupe _ .

Leorio, ever the probing one, voiced out, "In short you want to avenge yourself, and you need to be a hunter for that?"

_ 'His question…  _

_ is actually gonna help me learn more about what this hunter thing is! Nice, Leorio-san!' _

__ Kurapika closed their eyes and remarked, "That's the stupidest question I've ever been asked."

Leorio gritted his teeth as the blonde explained, "If I don't become a hunter, I won't have access to certain places, information and displacement. It's probably a detail your little neurons missed."

_ 'Okay so being a hunter grants access to those stuff that Kurapika spoke of…' _

The lanky male seethed, nose flaring from the younger's jab at his intelligence. 

The captain looked towards him and asked, "What about you, Leorio?"

"I won't put this out lightly, I'll just say it straight up. Let's speak openly." Leorio said, he then yelled out excitedly, " _ Money _ ! With money we can have  _ everything _ ! A great house, a classy car, and the best alcohol…!"

"Unfortunately manners can't be bought, Leorio." Kurapika crossed their arms, closing their eyes as they left the older male agitated.

With a tic mark on his head, Leorio narrowed his eyes and spoke up, "That's the third time."

He then turned around and said, "Follow me to the deck. Let's spill a little  _ 'noble'  _ blood of the Kurta clan, or something."

_ 'That was a low blow,'  _ Suzumi blinked, her eyes immediately went to Kurapika.

She could see how their face darkened, obviously not liking Leorio's words.

"Take back what you said, Leorio." They ordered, eyes glinting with what Suzumi could assume was anger.

Leorio didn't look like he'd take his words back, instead he opted to correct the other. He voiced out, "It's  _ Leorio-san." _

__ "H-Hey there's still an exam… you two…" Suzumi tried to dissuade the situation. To her futile attempts though, the two merely continued their intense stare-off.

"Come," Leorio urged as he strode to the direction of the deck. 

Kurapika followed after, "I'm right behind you."

The captain looked surprised from this sudden escalation of events, he called out to them, "I'm not finished! Do you not want to pass the exams?!"

"Let them fight." Gon suddenly said. He'd been quiet since the two started fighting, so Suzumi and the captain looked at him with confusion.

"What?"

"If you want to know someone, start by finding out what makes them mad." He said, "My Aunt Mito often used this phrase. I liked it a lot."

"From my point of view, both of them have their reasons to get angry. It's better to let them fight it out." Gon finished.

"Oh…" Suzumi trailed off, "But what if one of them gets knocked off the ship? It's dangerous."

_ 'There was no need to ask, Suzu. You're a hero in-training for goodness sake.'  _ She mentally scolded herself.

_ 'But honestly speaking, even I would hesitate to help someone in this kind of setting.' _

"Captain!" A yell broke out from the lips of one of the crew, "The wind is blowing stronger than expected!"

Alerted, they let their feet take them to the deck. There, they found the two facing each other with serious looks on their faces. They didn't seem like they were thinking straight, evidenced by the fact that none of them took into consideration what might happen if they were thrown overboard by the sea current.

"My God! If one of them falls overboard, it will be impossible to save 'em!" 

_ 'Exactly. It doesn't take hundreds of brain cells to know this won't go well.'  _ Suzumi huffed, feeling her hair getting wet again.

"Captain, tell me what I should do!" The crewmate yelled. 

"Let's go!" Kurapika said as they advanced towards their opponent with their weapon.

Leorio bent his knees and replied, "I'm waiting for you!"

Then, there was loud cracking sound.

Suzumi looked at the direction where the crisp sound came from and saw a crewmate about to get hit by a fallen piece from the ship. The two who'd wanted to fight it out stopped and checked the commotion.

The male's face was bashed in by the fallen part, blood spurting from his nose as his fellow crewmates yelled out in worry, "Katsuo!"

As if it wasn't already bad, the ship tilted a bit to the side and the man, Katsuo, was very much on his way to being swallowed by the raging sea waves.

Leorio ran and used his all to reach the man, gritting his teeth. Kurapika had also ran after them, and they both held their hand out for the victim to hold onto. It was far though, and they could only watch as the man was suddenly jumped at by a blur of green.

Gon jumped out to reach Katsuo, and when he did, Leorio was lucky to have been able to catch him by his ankle, immediately pulling them from the danger.

Suzumi heaved a sigh of relief, dispelling her quirk that formed an invisible platform underneath where she had estimated Katsuo would fall into. She hadn't even noticed that Gon ran earlier, determined to save the man.

She neared them and watched with a faint smile playing at her lips as Gon was praised by the others.

_ "Good job kid!" _

_ "Thanks a lot!" _

"Ouch! I've banged my nose…" Gon hissed as he pinched his nose.

He was suddenly faced with the frustrated looks of both Kurapika and Leorio, Suzumi joined in scrutinizing the boy's face.

Kurapika exclaimed in obvious worry, "Are you crazy?! The sea is wild, the currents are extremely strong and you… you… well it's extremely dangerous!"

"If we hadn't caught your feet, it'd have been over for you for sure! You would've drowned for sure!" Leorio growled, jabbing his finger towards the boy.

"You need to be more mindful of what happens after you act, Gon! If Leorio-san wasn't able to reach you back then…" Suzumi trailed off.

_ 'Actually they wouldn't have died, I'm not that useless…'  _ She thought.

"Yes, maybe…" Gon said as plopped to the floor, "but you reached me in time didn't you?"

There was a moment of silence as Kurapika and Leorio awkwardly agreed.

The latter looked at Kurapika from the corner of his eyes. He sweatdropped.

Kurapika was the first to speak up, "Forgive my rudeness… Leorio-san."

"Hm. I don't want anything like this between us." The corner of Leorio's lips turned up, "Call me Leorio, Kurapika. I'm the one who should've taken back what I said."

"So…" Suzumi started, the three looking at her, "Does this mean you both won't do anything as stupid as that again?"

Her words, though informal, Leorio couldn't put it in himself to scold the girl when she was right. The fight was stupid. 

Despite the odd first impressions on each other, it atleast earned them new companions to travel with. 

  
  
  
  


☆

  
  


Suzumi lived with her family, or what was left of it. She had a sister who was only three years younger than her, and a loving mother. 

She wondered if they noticed she'd been gone for how many hours now. She was a heavy sleeper, and her family was always considerate enough to let her continue sleeping through the day, particularly during weekends when she had nothing inportant to work on. With that said there was a fairly huge possibility that her mother and sister thought she was still sleeping.

_ 'I never knew Isekai could come in different ways… I always thought it was limited to death by vehicle accidents.'  _ She thought, letting her eyes roam the crowded place. 

The captain had expressed his gratitude to them, and claimed he was in a good mood so he dropped them off at the port closest to the venue of the examination.

While walking, Suzumi decided to call out to their blonde companion.

"Kurapika-san?" 

"Yes?"

"If it's not too rude, can I ask what your pronouns are?" Suzumi asked, scratching the back of her neck.

"Oh," Kurapika seemed like he had half expected the question, "It's he, him."

Suzumi's mouth formed an 'o' as she nodded, getting the confirmation. Gon seemed lost during the whole exchange.

"Why did you ask what his pro- pronouns are?" Gon tilted his head, his curious stare burning into their figures.

Suzumi let out a sheepish laugh and said, "Well, uh… actually, I don't think I'm the best at explaining things like this."

_ 'Oh god mom I'm sorry if I explain this wrongly…' _

"There are some people whose genders differ from how they are perceived by appearance. To avoid misgendering, I asked Kurapika-san what his pronouns were."

Kurapika let out a light chuckle, "I get asked that a lot."

Gon's mouth hung open before he 'ooh'-ed at the new information.

Suzumi coughed into her fist, "Anyways, where are we headed to now?"

If she was gonna stay here for a while, she needed to become a hunter and get all the benefits from it. To do that, she had to take the exam first, and what better way to navigate the area than getting yourself some guides!

They wove through the crowds, with Leorio leading them forward. He was the tallest and the safest bet they had so as to not get lost amidst the sea of people.

The older male gazed off, "There's so many of them...are they all enroute to Zaban?"

**Zaban** . That name stuck to Suzumi. It just sounded like a drawled out pronunciation of  _ Japan.  _ Despite that, she didn't really expect it to look like this universe' Japan.

_ 'Also, I don't want to judge but everyone here looks so scary…'  _ Suzumi bit her lip, eyeing a man whose intense stare made her grip the top of the person in front of her, Kurapika. The blonde slightly flinched, but didn't say a thing. 

"They're all probably here for the same reason we are." Kurapika mumbled.

__ They walked until they could see a huge board where a map was put up. Their eyes scanned the marks, looking for an indication of  _ Zaban _ . It was an easy task, as the town seemed very big. 

"It's strange to go down the path of the mountain, opposite to the direction of the town, and we could as well just ride a bus to get there." Leorio pitched in, he added, "It's a shortcut, but if we mess up we'll walk for nothing."

Suzumi frowned, not wanting that to happen.

Kurapika directed his questioning stare towards Gon, who'd been given directions by the captain to head for the tree on the mountain. He asked, "Maybe he accidentally pointed this way?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm going this way." Gon replied, letting his fishing rod rest on top of his right shoulder. He continued, "I'm sure there's a good reason for this."

_ 'Well… It's only logical to go with someone old enough to be able to protect you in some way.' _

__ Suzumi blinked,  _ 'But the captain from earlier seemed fond of Gon I don't think there's any way he'd set the boy up for a blunder.'  _

"I'll come with Gon." She blurted out as the cogs on her head finished turning furiously. The boy grinned in return, giving a thumbs up.

"You know, Gon, you should learn to be more suspicious of what people tell you." Leorio chided, "-and Mikura, too."

"I advise you both to go by bus."

Gon completely turned his back and only lifted a hand to wave goodbye. Suzumi looked back and apologetically smiled towards Leorio. 

"Bye, Leorio-san! Kurapika-san!" She voiced out before turning her head to keep her eyes on the trail.

Suzumi glanced at Gon from the corner of her eyes, and caught him doing the same. They shared a smile and walked forward. 

After some time, they suddenly heard footsteps from behind them. They turned to see Kurapika. Then, from a distance, they also saw Leorio waving at them as if to say  _ 'wait for me.' _

"He changed his mind?" Suzumi asked out loud.

Kurapika glanced at her before answering, "It's likely he missed the bus."

__

__ "Oh." 

Finally, the male caught up to them, falling in their steps as he heaved a sigh of relief. Suzumi noticed he wasn't looking too good, and figured that if she helped in carrying the briefcase the male would be able to catch his breath sooner.

"Do you need help carrying that, Leorio-san?" She asked, her eyes scanning Leorio's face as their steps didn't falter.

The male gained a tinge of pink in his cheeks, he scratched his cheek with one hand and refused the offer with an embarassed grin, "No, don't worry about it!"

"I'm not gonna steal anything!" Suzumi laughed, only realizing the slight weight on her words as she remembered that this was not her world and that things may be taken differently here.

_ 'Oof- I hope I don't trigger Kurapika-san in any way…' _

Fortunately, they didn't seem to become wary of her, so they probably got her joke.

They eventually reached an eerily town. It seemed deserted, but if she didn't know any better she wouldn't have noticed the many presences around them.

"I don't like this place," Leorio remarked as a drop of sweat ran down the side of his face, "There's nobody out here…"

_ 'Looks like Leorio-san couldn't feel them…'  _

"There are a lot of people here," Gon spoke up, cautiously glanced around him.

"Yes," Kurapika voiced out, "Let's keep our guards up."

Leorio looked very anxious hearing the two's conversation, "How do you know all these things?!"

He peered at Suzumi, who jolted from his sudden query, "Did you also know this?"

Suzumi let out an awkward laugh as she nodded, "Yeah..."

"Don't you hear the sound of breathing from everywhere?" Kurapika asked.

Gon nodded, "Yeah, and the sound of clothes scraping too. They're trying to hide!"

Leorio only seemed to become more confused by this, he turned away and pushed his glasses up, "Unfortunately, I'm a normal guy."

"Shh!" Kurapika shushed. 

There was a moment of silence as they remained on their spots, awaiting what would become an obstacle to their journey. It wasn't too long before an old woman appeared, along with various figures with mouths wide agape.

_ 'Are those masks?' _ Suzumi wondered.

"Very interesting…" the old woman started, making the group tense up.

**_"The exciting quiz of two answers!"_ ** The woman bellowed, her face surprising Suzumi as she put a hand to her heart.

_ 'That was unnecessarily creepy.'  _ She noted.

Leorio and Kurapika sweatdropped, finding it peculiar as the figures that surrounded them clapped their hands like they were in a game show.

"You're heading for the tree on the mountain aren't you?" The lady asked. Suzumi gave an unsure nod which made Leorio tap her shoulder and shake his head. Warning her not to be so hasty in answering people whose true intentions she didn't know.

If the woman noticed the subtle exchange, she didn't bother calling them out for it, instead she continued to explain. 

"First, you have to succeed in getting out of this town. The other paths that could lead you there are like labyrinths, in which reign terribly, bloodthirsty monsters." The woman explicated.

She continued, putting a finger out, "I will ask you one question."

"You only have five seconds to consider your answer." At this, Suzumi visibly flinched. On the spot questions were her one weakness. If it was math, sure, she would be able to answer but other than that? Specially with her being unfamiliar with this universe? She could only hope for questions that revolved around morals.

"If you  _ fail _ … your mistake will lead to  _ disqualification _ from this year's hunter exam."

_ 'No- I need to pass so I can get money and survive while trying to figure out a way back home.'  _ She let her eyes trail towards her companions,  _ 'I'm not gonna answer until they do… she didn't say anything about copying answers off of others! If they're able to pass through, I'll just answer the same as they did.' _

__ "I see, another test…" Kurapika trailed off.

"You'll answer with  **1** or  **2** . Any other answer will not be valid." 

Leorio asked, "Eh! One minute! Will there be only one question for all four of us?"

He then pointed towards Kurapika and queried, "If he answers wrongly, would I be eliminated too?"

The old woman nodded and Suzumi felt her legs go wobbly from this.

Kurapika seemed less than pleased with the insinuation that he would answer incorrectly. He bit back with a deadpan, "The idea of you disqualifying us is much more realistic."

Leorio gave Kurapika a noogie whilst Gon perked up and pointed out, "Well, If one of us knows the answer, we could just discuss it with everyone. Pretty cool."

"That's true but…"

"Come on, hurry up!" The impatient voice of a newcomer rung out, they all looked to where it was from and saw a man whose arrogant smile made Suzumi scrunch her nose in distaste.

_ 'An ugly personality to match the face.'  _ She thought, before backtracking and knocking her head lightly for thinking of such a mean thing.

The man went off about how he heard about the conversation Gon had with the Captain. He was able to go to the real path to the exam through this. 

His voice was really beginning to annoy Suzumi, and she couldn't help but want to create a needle from her quirk and pierce it into the man's backside. Though she took a grip and stopped herself from igniting a new problem. 

The man held himself high as he stepped forward. The old lady then proceeded to ask the question.

"Your mother and your girlfriend are captives of a demon. You can only save one." She stated, "Your mother or your girlfriend?"

"On second thought… I don't like questions about morals." Suzumi whispered to herself, clenching her fists.

Notably, Gon's whole group went rigid. They all were sure they heard it correctly, which was why they were so stumped.

_ 'As kids me and my sister jokingly asked each other things like that. Would you rather save mom or your friend? Questions like that.'  _ Suzumi pondered,  _ 'If it had been young me, I would've proudly answered that I'd save mom…' _

__ She knew that wasn't the right answer. But she didn't exactly think anyone could answer the other way. It was just cruel- even the thought of it. Deciding who to spare or not as if playing god, then coming up with reasons to defend such actions. 

_ 'Is this reverse psychology?'  _ She raised a brow at the thought, finding it somehow fitting considering this world wasn't as it seemed.  _ 'Maybe she isn't looking for an answer.' _

__ She worriedly gazed at her companions. Kurapika seemed like he was in deep thought, Gon too. Leorio however, seemed like he would burst a vein from the absurdity of the question.

"1!" The man answered, looking like he'd just earned himself a VIP ticket to the examination venue.

The old lady asked why he picked the first choice, to which he answered, "A mother is irreplaceable, but a girlfriend, there are plenty fish in the sea!" 

The man chose to answer with what he thought would please the old lady.

_ 'What a simple minded man…' _

The old lady discussed with the figures if they should let the man pass.

Suzumi was so sure he would be asked to get out but she and the others were taken aback when the lady decided to let the man pass. The lady told him where he was to go through and the man left with an arrogant smirk.

This made Suzumi uncertain about her deduction regarding the supposed trick question.

Leorio growled, "Are you mocking us?! What's with the weird quiz?!"

"This game, it's messed up! Who gets to decide what's right or wrong with this kind of question?!" Leorio exclaimed as he turned around and announced that he was gonna try for another path. 

"Too late. If you abandon this path, you'll be disqualified." The lady voiced out.

"You don't have the soul of a hunter."

Leorio paused in his steps, his face darkening with frustration.

Kurapika suddenly gained a look in his face, his inner turmoil seemed to have cleared up as he called out to the tall male.

"Leorio!"

Said male turned towards them swiftly, and screamed with a look of disbelief, "Don't tell me you're gonna accept the quiz?!"

They stood in silence as Kurapika chose not to reply.

The old lady raised a hand, "Wait! I don't want to hear anything else!"

They all watched as she announced that any utterance of words that didn't answer her question would be punished by disqualification. They were then asked to pick between accepting the next quiz or not.

"1!" Both Kurapika and Suzumi answered making Leorio grit his teeth.

The blonde male shared a look with the female, both coming to realization. They wished that Leorio would be able to understand the point of the test. They were also hoping Gon caught onto the whole scheme.

"Here's the question."

They all tensed up, eyes narrowing.

"Your daughter and son have been kidnapped, you can only save one." The lady said, "which one do you save, the daughter or the son?"

Leorio sneered as the old lady began counting down from five, Suzumi readied her hand if ever Gon or Leorio decided to open their mouths she'd make a quick work of them and tape their mouths with the masking tape she conjured.

At four, Leorio walked off to the side and took one of the planks. He rolled his shoulders, as if testing his muscles. This made Suzumi's face scrunch up. The obstacle gave them so much trouble that the old lady's face was probably gonna get bashed in from Leorio's displeasure.

And then, time was up.

The old lady voiced out, "There it is! It's over!"

Leorio lunged, bringing the piece he held down the lady but Kurapika was able to block it. The former ground his teeth in anger, faced with the blonde male. He asked, "Why did you stop me?!"

"Calm down, Leorio!" Kurapika clenched his hold on the bokken. His words only made Leorio agitated.

"You're kidding! I'm way too mad!"

Leorio then started threatening the lady, saying things like how he would bring the lady's head to Zaban as present and how he'd kill her friends and get to decide the rules. The tick mark on his forehead seemed so bulgy now it made Suzumi stare in concern.

_ 'He's gonna burst a vein if he continues this…' _

"Leorio-san, It's over! Please don't ruin this by harming the old woman..." Suzumi decided she needed to step in and put out Leorio's fire.

Said male's eyes widened in question, "What?"

"We gave the right answer, Leorio." Kurapika told him, " **_Silence_ ** , that was the right answer."

"You said it yourself,  _ who gets to decide what's right or wrong with that kind of question? _ "

__

__ "The question had no right answer. We were only told to answer with 1 or 2." Kurapika explained, putting his pointer finger up to his lips, "That's why we can't answer."

"But… but just a little while ago, that man-!"

"He was told to go, but nobody told him he answered correctly." Kurapika explained.

"I heard him screaming a while ago, so he must've been devoured by some kind of monster." The blonde haired male continued as if he were doing a report, "If that had been the case, then that must mean it isn't the right road."

Leorio went bug-eyed as the old lady confirmed this.

The tall male apologized to the lady, to which the latter replied, "It's because I wanted to meet guys like you that I accepted this job. Hang on and you'll become a good hunter."

Suddenly, Gon burst out, he crossed his arms and exclaimed, "I really don't understand!"

Suzumi, Kurapika and Leorio stared at him for a second before chuckling at his antics.

"It's alright now, Gon. The quiz is done." The black haired girl told the boy.

Gon tilted his head and said that he knew, though he still was wondering what he would do if he was ever put in a situation where he had to choose who to save.

"What would I do…?" Gon asked out loud, earning him surprised looks from the others.

"A day may come when I'll have to make that kind of decision…"

Suzumi sighed, and shoved her hands into the pockets of her skirt. She said, "It all comes down to imagining the worst… don't worry, Gon! You won't be alone when that time comes!"

The old lady shook her head subtly, she thought to herself,  _ 'No… it's inevitable. There will come a day when you have to walk separate paths.' _

__ The lady trained her gaze at the back of the group, watching as they set off to the exam venue.

_ 'Fate might not be so forgiving to let you prepare for that time.' _

☆

  
  


_ I know most people are probably tired of reading the hunter exam arc but it's where most of the character introduction happened so I'm just gonna try to figure out how to breeze through the arc with balance ig _

_ N e ways, what do y'all think of Suzumi? She isn't exactly heroic and can be pretty abrupt about her changes… kinda like me in a way. Feel free to tell me your thoughts~! _


End file.
